Taking unnecessary items out of the trunk of your car, will help increase your gas mileage.

Here are some simple steps you can take to make your vehicle more efficient and improve gas mileage so you’ve got more money to spend at your destination, instead of blowing your bankroll getting there.

(Fuel savings calculated for a 2,000-mile trip, averaging 20 miles per gallon at the current national average of $2.65 per gallon.)

Be an airhead

Under-inflated tires can sap your vehicle’s efficiency.

Low tire pressure costs you about 0.3 percent for every 1 psi drop on all four tires, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Inflating your tires to the proper pressure can improve gas mileage by about 3.3 percent, according to the agency.

That saves nearly three and a half gallons of gas over a 2,000 mile trip, based on an average fuel economy of 20 miles per gallon.

Don’t show off your rack

Yeah, it looks totally awesome in the parking lot at the ski resort; but if your gear fits in the car without a rack, it’s better to leave the roof rack at home.

A loaded rack can decrease fuel economy by about 5 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

That’s an extra five gallons of fuel on your trip. Even an empty rack increases drag and limits miles per gallon.

If the rack is essential, use it only when you need it and taking it off when you don’t, suggested Dan Ronan, a spokesman for AAA Texas/New Mexico.

“Anything that cuts down the aerodynamics of the car affects it,” Ronan said. “You don’t want to drive around with a roof rack that’s got nothing on it.”

Get the junk out of your trunk

You probably won’t be golfing on your snowboarding trip to Colorado, so go ahead and take the clubs out of the car.

Sports equipment, books and fast food wrappers can add up to a lot of weight and can reduce fuel efficiency by up to 2 percent, according to the EPA.

That would force you to use another two gallons of gas on vacation.

Slow your roll

AAA’s Ronan recommends driving the posted speed limit to save gas.

“Your mileage starts to really deteriorate any time you get above 70 mph,” Ronan said.

For every 5 mph over 60 mph, it’s like paying an 25 cents per gallon, according to EPA estimates.

That’s equivalent to around $75 on your 2,000 mile trip.

Keep in mind that some states, such as New Mexico and Wyoming, have posted highways speed limits of 75 miles per hour.

Cruise to better gas

mileage

Ronan also recommends setting the cruise control.

It keeps the car at a consistent pace and the engine at a steady turnover, he said.

“You don’t have the herky-jerky back and forth, back and forth, back and forth,” Ronan said.

“The engineers say that you get a better ride and you get better fuel efficiency.”